do you ever wonder what is the point of being thin?

watermillion
watermillion Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
everyone where I live is overweight (except for teens) and they seem pretty content. sometimes I think to myself, what is the point of being thin if everyone around me is heavyset and happy? am I being vain or shallow for watching my weight? I know I've been made to feel that way by close friends & family sometimes.
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Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Health, happiness, mobility, performance. The only positive from being overweight is being unexceptional, which isn't a positive.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Are they really happy with being overweight?

    When I was overweight, I never acted like a miserable mess. But I was very miserable. I just didn't feel like projecting it onto others was the answer.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Besides all the stuff about diabetes and heart disease, there is arthritis and just generally not being able to do as many things. It feels good to live in a strong, fit body.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    everyone where I live is overweight (except for teens) and they seem pretty content. sometimes I think to myself, what is the point of being thin if everyone around me is heavyset and happy? am I being vain or shallow for watching my weight? I know I've been made to feel that way by close friends & family sometimes.

    It's a choice to live better. I don't see anything wrong with being bigger or less "beach ready" if still inside healthy bmi ranges either. It's all personal preference and people should be allowed to do what they wan't imo. You can still live a long life without having abs.

    You have to be a little bit vain to get into insane shape, but that doesn't necessarily mean shallow.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
    Nope.

    A) I don't want to be thin. I want to be a healthy weight and body fat %.

    B) Being fat isn't that great.
  • theCarlton
    theCarlton Posts: 1,344 Member
    Sounds like you're talking yourself out of trying. Aim for strong instead of thin. Find people who hike, swim, kayak, etc.
  • MildredBarhopper
    MildredBarhopper Posts: 99 Member
    You shouldn't be made to feel vain for wanting to get in shape. ask yourself why you want to lose weight? will you feel more confident? will you be healthier? some people are naturally bigger, even when they exercise and eat right, while there are thin people who are very unhealthy. It's always a good thing to watch what you eat (although allowing for some treats, life is too short) and exercise. It's good for everyone, even if you aren't aiming to lose weight.

    If people around you seem happy, good for them, but don't let them make you feel bad for wanting to get into better shape.
  • Legs_McGee
    Legs_McGee Posts: 845 Member
    Liking what I see in the mirror
    Being able to run for miles and miles
    Being healthy and having energy
    Looking good naked
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
    Because of health.....because you want to feel good about yourself and be able to do anything and everything you want to do?
    It's not just a cosmetic thing, if you're obese even if you have pretty good mobility you can't do a lot of things: skydive, hang glide, ride on a plane in just 1 regular coach seat, go on certain amusement park rides, shop in normal clothing stores, go for a casual jog on the beach or even a long walk (a long walk anywhere), and in most cases feel comfortable and good about yourself.
  • smithed812
    smithed812 Posts: 289
    They just want to make themselves feel better by making you feel worse. Health is important. You should do what makes you happy. But to answer your original question, yes, in my low moments I have wondered what the point is. But junk food isn't the key to happiness!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Everyone in my family and around me is really thin and they're all happy too! Not that I'm overweight or anything but I guess it depends on where you live and what you're surrounded by.

    Also I've come to realize being bigger doesn't mean someone is necessarily unhealthy! :)
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
    Oh the question should be what ISN'T fun about thin! Honestly, there's not much. Here's what is fun:

    Riding a bike and not getting winded.

    Being able to do multiple pull ups because there's not as much weight to lift.

    Buying anything off the clearance rack in the small sizes and KNOWING it will fit before you even try it on.

    Getting smug satisfaction from the strength that it takes to eat healthy, especially while those around you eat garbage. This is especially fun while dining out with friends. Honestly I used to hate this part (as most healthy eaters do), but a small part of me kind of enjoys it now...

    Seeing ripped muscles in the mirror instead of flab, and knowing the effort that it has taken to get them.

    Bikini shopping!!!!

    Pajama shopping!!!!

    The boundless energy - it's no longer such a chore to clean the house or walk the dog.

    My house is now cleaner (see above).

    This is not a complete list, by any means...
  • Sectility
    Sectility Posts: 37
    When I was obese, I was content. It was mostly because I was too afraid to talk to people and people didn't really like me-- because I was obese. I went to a school full of skinny, preppy kids and I left during the 6th grade. When I went to a public school, people were more excepting and some people were even worse.

    Most overweight girls at that school were content and nice, but behind closed doors were extremely insecure, depressed, mean, lethargic, etc. It was really sad.

    Anyways, being "thin" doesn't have a point. It's more of a self-preference of how someone would wish to look like, which is quite a few people. The point is being healthy sets you as an example for other people to lose weight. As I've seen on this site, several people are motivated by their wife/husband losing weight, relative, friend or even just a stranger.

    Watching your weight is a good thing. Just don't overdo it. Good luck.
  • katelynal
    katelynal Posts: 114
    It makes a difference for the simplest of things, like fitting comfortably into the seats at the movie theater or the rides at the amusement park.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Following the crowd in this case is not the best thing for you. Be healthy and strong, get into your healthy BMI at least. Then revisit this complaint. I think you'll find you're much happier and feel a LOT better.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Health, happiness, mobility, performance.

    Excatly. Being thin has become marketed and a status symbol of sorts, but it is still about beaing healthy for a better quality of life.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Sounds like you're talking yourself out of trying. Aim for strong instead of thin. Find people who hike, swim, kayak, etc.

    ^ This. When you're strong and well conditioned life is much more fun.
  • watermillion
    watermillion Posts: 87 Member
    I'm not the thinnest girl in the world. I'm 153lbs, 5'8. In comparison to most overweight ppl in my city I'm probably a twig to them. I know I've been described as "very skinny" by obese ppl before.

    I just feel alone because I don't know anyone who is serious about their health. my mother eats all types of junk food and she's overweight. my brother has been trying to lose 80lbs for the past 10 years and hasn't dropped a lb of it yet. I'm the only person who takes eating healthy seriously. I feel isolated and the only place I find ppl like me is online.
  • sdpeklo
    sdpeklo Posts: 82
    Sounds like you're talking yourself out of trying. Aim for strong instead of thin. Find people who hike, swim, kayak, etc.


    This....sums it up. Find something you enjoy to keep you active. It makes it fun and not a chore or task.
  • Lors_go
    Lors_go Posts: 1
    Dont see it like it was a way of looking the same as they or not. Being thin is healthy for your body in so many ways, of course that anything as an excess is bad. Go on!
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Im less concerned about thin than about healthy. I don't want to go into my next decade feeling like I did for most of the last one...or looking like that either!
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,333 Member
    I think, in my case, the older you get, the less you want to be an old, fat person who does nothing except sit around and get older and fatter. Age does enough to rob you of the energy and mobility you take for granted in youth. Not to mention the older you are, the more susceptible you are to problems with joints, bones, heart problems, etc. I want to enter the last years of my life with a better chance to avoid some of the pitfalls of old age.

    VAIN? Your friends are morons. Misery loves company....they WANT you to stay fat like them. DONT fall for that. You get yourself thin and healthy and find some new friends that will support your efforts. You will be a LOT happier!
  • justwanderful
    justwanderful Posts: 142 Member
    I've been fat. I've been thin (normal weight).

    Thin (normal weight) is better.
  • alastria
    alastria Posts: 65 Member
    You are lucky. Where I live, everyone is thin. My city has the lowest obesity rate of North America. Our stats for the overweight are mostly derived from the older (40 and up) women.
    So where I live...the point of being thin is to be accepted in society. The bigger people are usually rejected or shunned out of social events.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    Sounds like you're talking yourself out of trying.

    BOOM.
  • soxfan2184
    soxfan2184 Posts: 48
    It's about being healthy! Not thin
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Nobody wants to be fat/obese and most fat/obese people aren't happy being that way. They may be happy in other aspects of their life but if you asked them if they could drop 50lbs overnight without any effort would they do it, they would.

    Just because they are comfortable and too lazy to do anything about their weight doesn't mean you have to be.

    The point in being thin (I prefer fit but whatever floats your boat)

    -healthier
    -happier
    -people treat you better (shouldn't be this way but it is)
    -feeling fabulous in your body
    -being well-equipped for anything life throws at you
    -live longer

    Remember - you are worth the effort
  • hilaryhill
    hilaryhill Posts: 156 Member
    Being able to go shopping and not being totally disgusted with what you see in the mirror and being able to look awesome in anything you wear. lol Or is that just me? :P
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    If you don't find a point in being thin good for you. Instead focus on being healthy or at least healthier if being completely healthy is out of range. Eat nutritionally dense foods and move more. Keep doing that in addition to creating a sustainable and modest deficit and you will lose weight and you will be healthier.
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    Believe it or not, you can not be healthy w/o being a healthy weight. Out of Necessity, if you eat and eliminate waste properly, your Body will gravitate to its natural weight. If you are overweight or obese, its more about health factors going bad...like your Body screaming out that you have eaten it into an acidic state. Which means at some point it will try to correct itself by going into states of dis-ease. Overweight or Obesity is your Body warning you what is to come Health-wise. All the other ascetic stuff is just is just a "Trick" to move your focus from your health, because there are those that are "thin" who are Un-Healthy; anyone can lose weight by cutting calories but what they eat may be poison junk (we see it every day).

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